8800GT Overclock Questions.

[bigboss]

Hey, I'm new to the whole overclocking scene. After buying S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Clear Sky and seeing my rig struggle to get 15FPS outside in DirectX10 mode I decided it was time to OC.

I have had some past experience with overclocking processors, but a GPU is a lot different. I read upon the subject deciding to use RivaTuner and skip flashing the BIOS.

I have a few questions for you:

1. I have heard that the 8800GT is bandwidth starved and that the biggest performance increase will be achieved by raising the memory clock. However I have read on many forums that the memory in the GT isn't great and if its pushed above 1000MHz (2000MHz effective) it can cause damage. Is this true?

2. I understand the difference between shader and core clock, however I have read on different forums that when overclocking in RivaTuner you should keep the core and the shaders linked. I read on a different forum that you should keep the two separate and when a stable core has been reached increase the shader as the core may reach its limit low and the shader could still be increased. What is your view on this and how would you overclock this card?

3. I have managed to overclock the card already, I have managed to push the Core to 732MHz, Shader to 1773MHz and the memory to 1003Mhz, the card idles at 49-50oc and reaches around 60oc peak. Is this a good increase and is the temperature safe? it was higher at one point and was running fine under stress in Vantage but when I ran any game it would artifact.

Thanks for you help I just don't feel like blowing up my graphics card.

- bigboss

 

[!TIMMY!]

Yo,

1. I read that the ram is rated to run at 1000 (Qimonda ram chips). My Asus 8800GT was happy at 1050 with no heatsinks on the ram.

2. Try both methods (will be different for different cards), and use ATITOOL to test the overclock for artifacts.

3. Those temperatures are good, graphics cards are designed to run hotter than e.g. cpu's. The new ATI cards idle around 70C and load around 85C. The max temp for the 8800GT is around 85C - 95C

Just remember to increase the clocks slowly, and test them by running ATITOOL for 15 minutes each time. When you start getting artifacts, back off my about 10mhz to make sure it will be stable.

Hope this helps. This is what I am about to do with my 8800GT now I have a new cooler. On the old Glacier cooler I was at 720 core, 1800 shader and 1050 memory, but remember every single card is different.

 

[zzhang]

I find that the Fur Rendering Benchmark is a great stress test never seen my gfx temp go so high! More importantly, maybe it's time to get a new gfx casuse even you you do oc you might get to 20fps which is playable but not great...

 

[gotmaxpower]

My 8800GT overclocks nicely but during benchmarks such as Vantage it gets up to around 60c. Used to get into the 70's but it has got progressively less. Probably because I cleaned out my case on the day I did the Vantage benchmark.

For most benchmarks, I use;

756/1890/2106

 

[usman.zx10]

i use to rock 760/1050 on my card.

it does run hot, at around 55c idle and i would see 80c under full load. I know it can take upwards of the 90-100c.

just becareful and do it slowly..

 

[bigboss]

Thanks for all your comments, they have been very helpful.

More importantly, maybe it's time to get a new gfx casuse even you you do oc you might get to 20fps which is playable but not great...

Yeah this overclock only has to last me to Christmas, I should be getting a new rig with either a 4870 or if I have won the lottery a GTX280.

 

[°TheMadDutchDude°]

No.. why do you people still insist on the 280GTX!

I have done my best on other forums to convince people that the ATi HD4870x2 is the much better option!

 

[Rastalovich]

Nah it's a GTX280 count for me. Similarly if a GT200x2 was about, I'd still go 280.

The memory on a 8800GT Alpha Dog I have here `used` to go 1050, but after a while stuggled to stay around 985. Similarly it would go 745mhz clock, but now I`m lucky with 710 for a bench.

It`s a solid card, but if ur a crazy oc`er, I don`t personally recommend pushing it too far.

 

[pafk0o]

Carefull with ram , it overheats easly when its overclocked to high, specially when you have this flat stock cooler.

mine is going on 700 Core and 933 ram(1866 effective) dont know why but each time i want to push further nvidia driver stops working ;]

about buying new card , 4870 would be nice option , specially if you have intel chipset(for future crossfire) , or if you will win lottery 4870x2

 

[Bruce Banner]

Try using coolbits, Somebody told me that works well for these cards